Firefox Unable to Use GPU
I use a laptop with both an integrated graphics card and a dedicated graphics card (GTX 1060 Max-Q). Recently after reinstalling Windows, I found that Firefox refuses to use my dedicated graphics card. What's stranger about this is that when testing Chrome and Edge, Chrome has the same problem, but Edge seems to detect and use it the dedicated card just fine.
I used both https://alteredqualia.com/tmp/webgl-maxparams-test/ to test this, as well as monitoring GPU usage with GPU-Z to confirm that this was the case. I'm also using Firefox 80.0 at the time of this issue.
Is there something that could be preventing Firefox from accessing the GPU or something?
Chosen solution
Ok, I found the solution. Apparently Windows 10 has a place where you can select which graphics card your applications use. Setting Firefox to use dedicated graphics on my Nvidia Control Panel did nothing, but setting it on Windows "Graphics Settings" option did the trick.
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Hi, did you add Firefox in the NVidia panel?
Yes, I did. I figured that might've been the problem at first, but adding it didn't seem to do anything.
Enter about:support in the URL bar and check the Graphics section.
I put the whole graphics section in a pastebin:
Here, I put the Graphics section in a pastebin:
(note that this information is available as part of the System Details list as JSON)
Maybe check if there is an update available:
adapterDescription2: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design driverVendor2: driverVersion2: 26.21.14.4223 driverDate2: 1-31-2020 isGPU2Active: false direct2DEnabled: true
{name: ADVANCED_LAYERS, description: Advanced Layers, status: blocked, log: [{type: default, status: available}, {type: env, status: blocked, message: Blocked from fallback candidate by WebRender usage}]},
Modified by cor-el
I tried updating to the most recent driver on Nvidia's website (I previously used the driver provided by my laptop manufacturer). And I'm getting the exact same thing.
Here's the new pastebin:
Chosen Solution
Ok, I found the solution. Apparently Windows 10 has a place where you can select which graphics card your applications use. Setting Firefox to use dedicated graphics on my Nvidia Control Panel did nothing, but setting it on Windows "Graphics Settings" option did the trick.